New Mexico Videogame Tax Proposal Fails

A proposed tax on videogames in New Mexico has been shot down by legislators.

The 1 percent tax, which would have been applied to televisions as well as videogames and gaming equipment, was meant to be used for the creation of the “Leave No Child Inside” fund, which would have helped pay for outdoor education programs in the state. Proponents of the tax said outdoor programs improve classroom performance, increase self-confidence and teach children discipline, the Associated Press reported.

But critics of the tax, which would have been the first of its kind in the U.S., said they were being unfairly penalized because of “parents who don’t know how to raise their children.” The tax proposal, HB583, failed to pass through the New Mexico Legislature.

According to a representative of the New Mexico Sierra Club, one of the key supporters of the tax, the vast majority of New Mexico students live within a half-hour of a state park, but fewer than ten percent have ever visited one.